From the United States, analyst groups are reporting a drop in the sales rate of Sony and Microsoft machines above expectations.
The arrival of the new generation of Sony and Microsoft consoles at the end of 2020 is causing its two current home systems, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One family, to be falling into high-speed sales. The main market in the West, the United States, is reporting a percentage of year-on-year fall above the estimated.
PS5 and Xbox Series X on the horizon, direct brake to the current generation
The latest reports published by the NDP Group consulting group indicate that, during last January, the cost of both hardware and video game software fell by 26% compared to the same period of the previous year. These total 678 million dollars show that the installed user base of PS4 and Xbox One begins to hit the ceiling; The proximity of PS5 and Xbox Series X, whose launch window is Christmas of 2020, is particularly affecting hardware, not so much software.
Xbox Series X and the new console controller | Microsoft
According to the information consulted, the direct sale of consoles fell 35% in January compared to 2019 data, more than one console less than every ten sold. Mat Piscatella, one of the top leaders of the NPD Group, says that this dynamic with a downward trend is not affecting Nintendo Switch, which will turn three years in the market in March; and that it is thanks to its presence that the fall is much smaller. Once again, January 2020 left the Nintendo hybrid as a sales leader in the North American market.
Nintendo Switch aims to be a sales leader throughout 2020
The interest in buying games – regardless of whether they are physical or digital – also falls. In this case, the percentage of fall was 31% year-on-year. It is true that 2019 was a particularly buoyant course due to the presence of titles such as Kingdom Hearts III and Resident Evil 2 Remake, the best selling in the history of their respective sagas; this time, only Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot served as the main focus of interest in the new additions to the shelves.
Nintendo Switch family of consoles. Its president, Shuntaro Furukawa, has stated that they will not launch new hardware in 2020
The fall also occurs in prepaid cards and accessories, where controls come in, although only 11%. Microsoft's Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller has become the best-selling controller in the market for the third consecutive month; the fifth most successful in the history of the United States.
All in all, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4, Xbox One and PC) has managed to beat Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and snatch the top spot in the monthly sales rankings for the first time since its departure last quarter.
Regarding PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X there are still many unknowns unanswered. On the one hand, the launch window, Christmas 2020; on the other, the available games catalog of output, functions, features and, above all, the price, which is causing problems for Sony due to the cost of producing the console.
